Apparatus for putting slack in anchoring assemblies of electrical conductors



June13, 1939- u. c. DUNAWAY ET AL 2,162,070

APPARATUS FOR PUTTING SLACK IN ANCHORING ASSEMBLIES OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed March 21, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l q! a :2 E? I lnvsuroes WAY AND HEM/ l N. CUNNINGHAM A TTmP/YEY 7 mm E M i Q mu mw M ULRICH C. Bur/A June 13, 1939. U c, DUNAWAY ET AL 2,162,070

APPARATUS FOR PUTTING SLACK IN ANCHORING ASSEMBLIES OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed March 21, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5v WWW;

ATTOE/Yf) Patented June 13, 1939 APPARATUS 1F0R. PUTTING? SLACK .lIN

CHORING ASSEM1$LIES+ OF '=;ELEGTRIGAL l;

coNp oTons Ulrich C. Dunaway; St.-Louis and M; Curlningham, 'Ma 'mlcvvoc'd',"Moi; assign'ors' to James RrlKearneyl Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation ,of Missouri.

ppl cat on M r hlzl, 1938, rial .-1,\T 191,097,

102 Claims. 'I'l1is invention-relates generally I ca anna:

ratus for imparting pull to electricalconductors. supportedrby poles and. the like for the purposeof putting slack inanchoring assemblies asso:,

ciated with said electrical conductors which. an chcring assemblies, include insulators, clamps. and other appurtenances usually vemployed ,as

parts of such anchoring assemblies, thepredomi nant object of the invention being to provideean l0 apparatus of this type which is ofrelativelysimple construction and arrangement and is capable of. performing its intended, function in P a highly.

efficient manner.

Line anchoring assemblies of the type with;

which the improved apparatus disclosed hereinQ may be used ordinarily comprise, ODBMOIIW more strings of insulators, the insulators of each string of insulators being moi ably and rernoyably; connected together, and each string of insulators V being connected at its'opposite ends by suitable means to a pole or other support and to an assov ciated electrical conductor. It frequently happens 7 because of breakage, or for other reasons, that,it becomes necessary to replace insulators or othert parts of an anchoringassembly and therefore parts thereof. Alsothe means employed for tem-.

porarily attaching the electrical conductor to' the pole or other support must be of such natllre at.

thetension ordinarily present in anchoring assemblies becauseof the attachment of electrical conductors thereto may be relieved! so that the anchoring assemblies may be disassenrbled for the purpose of replacing parts thereof.

The apparatus disclosed herein is of such im' proved construction and arrangement that the task of arranging it in place in assembledrelation with respect to a pole, orother support; andan associated electrical conductor is -relatively simple and may be accomplished withmaximum safety to the line-.men performing-the task zanda.

also e pr v app ratusincludes-means can-l.

able of simple and convenient; operationlf or put ngting slack in the assembly with which-it i s-associated so that said, assemblymay be disasserrrbled ciation with a pole and an associated electrical conductor, parts of the apparatus being broken away.

v Fig.2 is a side elevation of the structure and j its! a rangement illustrated in Fig. ,1, parts ofl the appstratusLand; parts of the pole being broken aw Fig 3 isa cross-section taken on line 3 3 of Fig l and glooking in thedirectionvindicatedby .5 rows.

Fig. is-a cross section taken on line 4-14. of Fig i and; looking; in the direction indicated by, rest Fig 5 is a fragmentaryviewpartly; in e1eva-, 10

tion and partly in verticalisectionillustrating the V manner of attaching the -apparatus to an elect-H itala iwie -a 6 5a ra mentar P rview th i qs ndi RQ iism h a pnamiu W i hr a ac e es nate t a r d e or Fig: 7 is a cross-sectidntakenon,1ine; 1l' of R -"1.

Fig. 8 illustrates thernanner of zusing -the im protved apparatus in a vertical position.:

In the drawings wherein is shown for ltl e pur pose .of illustration, 1 ,merely,; one; emhodiment of the invention A designates the-apparatus genera11y-.. 'I'heapparatusA includes a pairpt elongated bars l and 2 Which-are disposedin spaced 25 substantially i parallel, relation as shown to good, v nt e in alb rs La d 2 a eifpsmed of wood or other suitablaelectrical insulating; material andl at their; rear ends,the,bars J andi 1 have fixedly mounted thereon sleeves 3 and each V of {said sleeves beingprovided with an end wall atits outer end as shown atthe bottom of Fig l. The end l wall of each sleeve is-spac ed ffrornthe adjacent end of the associated .bar and, arranged r,

in. the spacebetween saiduparts of each ,bar and 35...

sleeve assembly is the heady of a boIt theMboItM associated with p, the bar. andsleeve assembly l.13 beingdesignatedby the reference character 5 and the bolt associated .with theloarland sleeves assembly; .274 being designated vby the reference .140

character 6. The shanks of the bolts 5 and- 6 srt r-Qu h o enin s i ac dtzw l sse atheir e ve s i s anks w i h a of bs n: tial 1 leng t h extend rearwardlyirom the ;rear end. of the sleeves; 45

When-,the apparatus .A is ,in, use the shanksof the bolts-5 and 6 are disposed at opposite; sides. of a .pole P,.- orvllike support with which the. apparatus .is associated .and'said boltshanks sup-l port a .yokel, shown to .the best advantage in Fig; 1. The yoke is generallyoi arcuate shape and includes outwardlywprojected extensions 8 at its opposite 'ends, said extensions being providedwith-openings 9 formed therethrough which 55 vertically disosed strap l6.

extension 8 of the yoke I is provided with a recess,

II in which is seated a ball bearing assembly l2 and the shank of each bolt 5 and 6 has mounted on the sorewthreaded portion of the shank thereof a nut I3 which is adapted to be screwed into contact with a portion of the associated ball bearing assembly I2 (Fig. 1).

In order to properly support the yoke I relative to the pole P particularly while the apparatus is being arranged in place for use a strap I4 is arranged about the pole, said strap being provided with a suitable buckle I5 by means of which the strap may be fastened securely about the pole as shown in Fig. 1. Arranged in engagement with the pole-embracing strap I4 is a relatively short, The upper portion of the vertically disposed strap I6 embraces the pole-embracing strap I4 while the lower portion of said vertical strap engages an eye I I associated with the yoke I so as to support said yoke ,relative to the pole P. The yoke I is provided with a centrally located portion I8 of substan* tial circular cross-section through which an opening is formed from front to back. A rod I9 is disposed in the opening of the portion I8, said rod being provided with apointed forward portion I9 providing a spur which is adapted to be forced into the wood of the pole to assist in supporting the yoke in position on the pole. To secure the rod I9 in place a nut 28 is mounted on the sorewthreaded rear end portion of said rod, said nut being adapted to engage the rear end face of the portion I8 of the yoke.

Adjacent to their forward ends the bars I and 2 are connected together by a cross member which includes an inner element 2| of upwardly curved formation as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 6, said inner element being provided with opposed, substantially horizontal portions 2| provided each with a transversely curved cavity 2 Ia formed therein in which one of the bars I or 2 is seated (see Fig. 3). When viewed in plan the opposed, substantially parallel end portions of the inner element 2| are elongated in the direction of the extension of the bars I and 2 (Fig. 1) and the transversely curved cavities 2| formed in said opposed end portions extend from front to back of said elongated portions.

In order to secure the inner element 2| to the bars I and 2 said inner element has associated with it a pair of opposed clamping members 22,

portions of the inner element 2 I, and the leg portions of said U-bolts 23 are extended through apertures formed in the clamping members 22 p and have nuts mounted thereon. The U-bolts 24' have their bridge portions extended through openings formed in the opposite end portions of the inner element 2|, and the leg portions of said U-bolts 24 likewise extended through apertures formed in the clamping members and have nuts mounted thereon. The clamping members are provided with cavities which extend from front to back thereof, the walls of said cavities being curved in conformity with the cross-sec tional curvature of the bars I and 2 so that portions of said bars may be received by said cavities. Also each of the clamping members is provided with a downwardly and rearwardly extended hook 25 which serves a purpose to be hereinafter set forth. It is plain that whenthe nuts are drawn up on the sorewthreaded legs of the U-bolts 23 and 24 the bars I and 2 will be securely clamped between the opposed end portions of the inner element 2| and the clampingmembers 22 whereby said bars I and 2 will be connected together in a manner to maintain the transverse spacing thereof.

Formed in the opposed end portions of the inner element 2| are openings through which rod portions 26 extend, said rod portions being extended rearwardly beyond the opposed end portions of the inner element and nuts 21 being mounted on said extended rod portions for attaching the rod portions to said inner element. The forwardly extended portions of the rods of which the portions 26 form parts converge toward each other as indicated at 28 in Fig. 1, and at their forward ends the convergent rod portions 28 are attached to a member 29. The member 29 includes opposed sleeve portions 39 in which the forward end portions of the convergent rod portions 28 are secured, and intermediate of these sleeve portions the member 29 is shaped to provide a tapered opening 3| (see Figs. 1. 3, and 5). The tapered opening 3| of the member 29 terminates at its forward end in a vertical slot 32 formed in the forward portion of the member 29 (see Fig. 3) and at the bottom of the member 29 an opening leading into the tapered opening 3| is provided which is in the form of slot 33 that extends rearwardly from the lower end of the vertical slot 32 to the rear end of the member 29. Projected rearwardly of the member 29 are extensions 34 which are located at opposite sides of the opening 33.

The apparatus A includes a clamp 35 which is attached to an electrical conductor C on which pull is to be imparted with the aid of the apparatus. The clamp 35 includes a body portion 36 having an inclined lower wall 31 and provided with an opening 38 formed in a side thereof which extends from end to end of the clamp as shown in Fig. 5. The clamp 35 includes also a wedge 39 which is disposed within the body portion of the clamp with itsinclined edge face 39' in contact with the inclined bottom wall of the body portion of the clamp. At its rearward end the wedge 39 is provided with a knob 49, and this knob together with an adjacent portion of the wedge have a notch 4| formed therein which is open at its top as shown in Fig. 3. When the apparatus A is in its normal operative position the knob 40 is disposed in the tapered opening 3| of the member 29 as shown in Fig. 5.

Supported in positions below the bars I and 2 is a. pair of similar bars 42 and 43 which like the bars I and 2 are formed of wood or other suitable electrical insulating material. At points adjacent to their forward ends the bars" and 43 are connected together and are suspended from the bars land 2. The means for connecting the bars 42 andv 43 and suspending them in place includes a U-shaped element 44 provided with oppositely disposed hook portions 45 at the top of the'ele ment which are hooked over the bars I and 2 as shown in Fig. 3. The bars 42 and 43 rest in curvatures 46 provided where the opposed side walls of the element-.44 join the horizontal lower portion of said element,- and in orderto secure the bars 42 and 43 to the element 44 a clamping member 4'! is employed. The main portion of the clamping member 47 is extended parallel with respect to the lower portion of the element 44 and at the opposite endof this main portion the clamping member 41 is provided with curved bar-engaging portions 48, The clamping member 41 is drawn toward thelower portion of the element 44 by bolts 49 and as a result thereof the bars 42 and 43. are rigidly clamped between the curved portions 48,,of the clamping member 41 and the curved portions 43 of the element 44.

The rearward portions of the bars 42 and 43 are connected together by a structure similar to the lower portion of the means made up of the element 44 and the clamping member 4?; that is to say the structure for supporting the rear portions of the bars 42 and 43 comprises an element 59 and a clamping member 5! which are drawn into clamping engagement with the bars 42 and 43by bolts 52. The supporting structure at, the rear of bars 42 and 43 differs from the supporting means at the forward ends of said bars in that the element 58 and the clamping member 5! are provided with parallel upwardly inclined portions 53 to which eyes 54 are attached. The rear portions of bars 42 and 43 are supported by a rope 55 which is extended through the, eyes 54 and is passed about the bars I and 2 ina suitable manner as shown in Fig. 4.

In arranging the improved apparatus in place for use the clamp 35 is applied to the conductor C at the proper point thereon, the wedge 39 of said clamp being drawn rearwardly relative to the body portion 35 of the clamp whereby said clamp very securely engages the conductor. As shown in Fig. 3 the conductor C extends through the notch 4| of the knob'Ml of the clamp. The yoke .l at this time has been secured to the pole P with the aid of the strap I4 and 16 as already explained herein. The apparatus A without the yoke] is drawn up the pole to a position where the forward portion of the apparatus is located above the conductor and with the member 29 disposed forwardly of the knob 40 of the wedge of the clamp 35.. The forward end portion of the apparatus is lowered and the apparatus is then drawn rearwardly so that the knob 40 of the wedge of the clamp is disposed within the tapered opening 3| of the member 29 as shown in Fig. 5. When the device is ready for use the shanks of the bolts 5 and 6 extend through the openings 9 formed in the opposed end portions 8 of the yoke 'l with the ball bearing assemblies interposed between said opposed end portions of the yoke and the nuts- [3 which are mounted on said bolt shanks. With the apparatus so arranged in place rotation of the nuts l3 in the proper direction will draw the entire apparatus, with the exception of the yoke 1, rearwardly, and because the apparatus is connected to the conductor 0 through the instrumentality of the member 29 and the knob 40 of the wedge of the clamp 35 pull will'be imparted to the portion of the conductor located forwardly of the apparatus. This will put slack in the associated anchoring assembly made up of the insulators D and the clamp E whereby parts of said assembly may be removed and replaced as desired.

When slack is placed in the anchoring assembly associated with the conductor C the insulators sag to positions where they are supported by;the-associat ed bars 42 and 43. Also the bars 42 and .43; have associated therewith a member..

56 which supports the clamp E when slack is put in theanchoring assembly, said member 56 being provided with opposed portions 56' which embrace the bars 42 and 43, as shown in Fig. 7, and a centrally located clamp-receiving portion 51. The opposed portions 56 which engage the bars 42. and 43 are held in engagement with said bars by pins 58.

To remove the apparatus from its operative position after work on an anchoring assembly has been completed the pins III are removed from their apertures in the opposed portions of the yoke l. The shanks of the bolts 5 and 6 may then be moved outwardly out of the opening 9, the nuts 8 3 previously being unscrewed slightly. The forward portion of the apparatus is then moved forwardly to disengage the member 29 from the knob 43 of the clamp '35 after which the forward portion of the apparatus may be lowered to the ground, and the yoke l disengaged from the pole P,

The apparatus A in addition to being capable of use in a horizontal position, may be used in a vertical position as shown in Fig. 8. In that view the yoke l is shown attached by means of the straps l4 and 16 to an arm F of a tower and theremainder of the apparatus hangs downwardly from said tower arm with the hooks 25 ar ranged in engagement with a conductor Ca. With the apparatus so arranged manipulation of the nuts l3 in the proper direction will draw the portion of the apparatus other than the yoke l upwardly, thereby raising the conductor Ca and putting slack in the anchoring assembly G.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for imposing pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, attaching means for preliminarily attaching said member to said support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in parallelism, means for connecting said spaced elements together, a pair of means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, said pair of means comprising each a screwthreaded extension projecting from one of said spaced elements and extending through an opening formed in said member, and nuts on said screwthreaded extensions which on rotation thereof move said extensions and the elongated elements with which they are associatedrelative to said member, and means for connecting said spaced elements to an electrical line on which pull is to be imposed.

2. An apparatus for imposing pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, attaching means for securing said member to said support, said attaching means comprising a strap arranged to embrace said support, and a connecting element connected to said strap and to said member, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in parallelism, means for connecting said spaced elements together, a pair of means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, said pair of means comprising each a screwthreaded extension projecting'from one of said spaced elements and extending through an opening formed in said member, and nuts on said screwthreaded extensions which on rotation thereof move said extensions and the elongated elements with which they are associated relative to said member, and means for connecting, said 4 spaced elements to an electrical line on which pull is to be imposed.

3. An apparatus for imposing pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, attaching means for securing said member to said support, said attaching means comprising a strap arranged to embrace said support, a connecting element connected to said strap and to said member, and a spur removably carried by said member and adapted to be forced into the support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in parallelism, means for connecting said spaced elements :together, a pair of means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements tosaid member, said pair of means comprising each a screwthreaded extension projecting from one of said spaced elements and extending through an opening formed in said member, and nuts on said screwthreaded connecting said spaced elements together, said cross means including an inner element and clamping elements arranged in association with said inner element so as to clamp said spaced elements between said clamping elements and said inner element, an engaging member supported by said inner element, and Wire-engaging means associated with an electrical line on which pull is to be imparted, said wire-engaging means being engaged by said engaging member.

5. An apparatusfor imparting pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arrangedin substantial parallelism, a pair of means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, cross means for connecting said spaced elements together, said cross means comprising an inner element and clamping elements arranged in association with said inner element so as to clamp said spaced elements between said clamping elements and said inner element, and wire-engaging hooks associated with said clamping elements.

6. An apparatus for imparting pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in substantial parallelism, means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements'to said member, cross means for connecting said spaced elements together, wire-engaging means associated with an electrical line on which pull is to be imparted, engaging means supported by said cross means for engaging said wire-engaging means, and a supporting structure suspended from said spaced elements and disposed therebelow.

elements arranged in substantial parallelism,

means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, cross means for connect-l ing said spaced elements together, wire-engaging means associated with an electrical line on which pull is to be imparted, engaging means supported by said cross means for engaging said wire-engaging means, and a supporting structure suspended from said spaced elements and disposed therebelow, said supporting structure comprising a pair of elongated substantially parallel elements spaced apart a distance less than the spaced distance of the first mentioned spaced ele ments.

8. An apparatus for imparting pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in substantial parallelism, means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, cross means for connecting said spaced elements together, wire-engaging means associated with an electrical line on which pull is to be imparted, engaging means supported by said cross means for engaging said Wire-engaging means, and a supporting structure suspended from said spaced elements and disposed therebelow, said supporting structure comprising a pair of elongated substantially parallel elements spaced apart a distance less than the spaced distance of the first mentioned spaced elements, and means adjacent to opposite ends of said supporting structure for attaching it to said first mentioned spaced elements.

9. An apparatus for imparting pull on an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in substantial parallelism, means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, cross means for connecting said spaced elements together, wire-engaging means associated with an electrical line on which pull is to be imparted, engaging means supported by said cross means'for engaging said wire-engaging means, and a supporting structure suspended from said spaced elements and disposed therebelow, said supporting structure comprising a pair of elongated substantially parallel elements spaced apart a distance less than the spaced distance of the first mentioned spaced elements, and means adjacent to opposite ends of said supporting structure for attaching it to said first mentioned spaced elements, the attaching means at one end of the supporting structure comprising rigid means provided with hooks that engage said first-mentioned spaced elements.

10. An apparatus for imparting pull on'an electrical line to put slack in an anchoring assembly associated therewith, comprising a member mounted on a support, a pair of spaced elongated elements arranged in substantial parallelism, means for adjustably connecting said spaced elements to said member, cross means for connectw ing said spaced elements together, wire-engaging means associated with an electrical line on which pull is to be imparted, engaging means supported by said cross means for engaging said wire-engaging means, and a supporting structure suspended from said spaced elements and disposed therebelow, said supporting structure comprising a pair of elongated substantially parallel elements spaced apart a distance less than the spaced distance of he first mentioned spaced elements, 75

taching means at the opposite ends of the supporting structure including flexible means arranged in engagement with said first-mentioned spaced elements.

ULRICH C. DUNAWAY. FIRMIN M. CUNNINGHAM. 

